How to Thrive in Uncertainty (Without Pretending It’s Easy)

Welcome to the wild ride! Let’s be honest: change is rarely comfortable, and uncertainty doesn’t exactly feel like a warm hug. But if you’ve lived more than a minute on this planet - especially if you’ve led teams and managed projects - you’ll know change is both constant and complex.

This article isn’t about pretending change is easy. It’s about naming what makes it hard and offering a map for how we can move through it together with more clarity, courage, and compassion. 

Whether you’re a leader trying to guide your team through a transition, or just a human trying to stay afloat in a shifting world, this one’s for you.

Part 1: Understanding Change (So It Doesn’t Catch You Off Guard)

1. Change is guaranteed

As Blaise Pascal put it, “The only certainty is uncertainty.” And the Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes change as “making either an essential difference often amounting to a loss of original identity or a substitution of one thing for another.” 

That’s big. No wonder it throws us off. But not all change is created equal.

2. Change is multifaceted

Change might be:

• Self-driven or imposed

• Perceived as positive or negative

• Macro (like a company restructure) or micro (like a new calendar system)

• External (new boss, new system) or internal (new mindset)

• Temporary or permanent

It can be hugely helpful to reflect on which types of change you find most challenging to navigate. How do you respond to micro changes to your routine or big societal shift? Do you prefer when someone else makes the decisions or when you’re in the driver’s seat?  

3. Change is challenging

What makes change so difficult? For one, it often brings a fear of the unknown. We don’t know what’s coming, and that uncertainty can feel overwhelming. 

There’s also a loss of control - especially when things are shifting without our permission. Fear of failure (or even fear of success) can creep in too, along with self-doubt and long-held limiting beliefs. 

Change can stir up big emotions, and if we don’t feel supported or clear on the path ahead, it’s easy to feel stuck or isolated. So what can we do?  

Part 2: Navigating Change Without Losing Yourself (or Your Team)

1. The Change Curve: A Shared Language for the Journey

   
   

One way to navigate change is to normalise it by introducing a map and common language around the experience. The Change Curve  - based on Scott and Jaffe’s model does just that, framing the journey in three stages:

1. Change: “What is this? Why do we have to change?”

Here, communication is everything. Be transparent about what’s happening, why it matters, and what the vision is.

2. Transition: “I don’t get this. I can’t do this. It’s not working.”

This is the messiest part. It’s emotional. People resist. That’s normal. Support here means listening, validating, offering practical help, and inviting others to co-create solutions.

3. New Beginnings: “We’re doing this! I’ve learnt so much.”

As the dust settles, energy shifts. This is a time for celebrating wins, encouraging creativity, and preparing — yes — for the next change.

Using the curve to ask everyone in the team where they’re at can open valuable conversations and lead to thoughtful solutions and compassionate support. Note a safe space must be created upfront, otherwise it won’t work as no one will tell you the truth.

Also remember: not everyone will be in the same place at the same time plus people will fluctuate back and forth between stages. The experience of change isn’t smooth or linear. Think about the latest change you’ve been through and you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about! 

2. The Significance of Social Support

Change is a team sport - even when it doesn’t feel like it. Support takes many forms:

• Practical assistance: Help me get it done.

• Guidance: Show me the path.

• Emotional support: Sit with me in the messy middle.

• Belonging: Remind me I’m not alone.

• Accountability: Keep me moving.

As William James wrote, “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

Your role as a leader or change agent isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to help people, yourself included, feel seen, supported, and steady - even when the ground is shifting.

3. Zone of Control: Clarifying What You Can (and Can’t) Do

When change hits, overwhelm can creep in fast. One of the most grounding exercises I use - with clients and in my own life - is Stephen Covey’s Three Zones model:  

• Zone of Control: What I can directly affect (my mindset, my words, my actions)

• Zone of Influence: What I can shape, but not control (team dynamics, decisions above me)

• Zone of Concern: What worries me, but is outside my influence (global markets, other people’s emotions)

When we focus on what we can control, we reclaim agency. We move from spiraling to problem-solving.

4. Mindset Matters

At an individual level, how we think about change shapes how we move through it. Consider the difference Carol Dweck introduced between:

• Fixed mindset: “I can’t change.” “What’s the point?”

• Growth mindset: “What if it works?” “I can learn.” “I like to try new things.”

It doesn’t mean we fake positivity. It means we stay open to the idea that growth is possible, even when it’s painful. This will increase resilience.

5. Radical Acceptance

   
   

One of the most powerful tools in navigating change - especially the hard kind - is radical acceptance. It doesn’t mean you like what’s happening. It doesn’t mean you give up. It means you stop fighting reality so you can respond to it more effectively.

It sounds like:

• “This is what it is.”

• “I don’t have to like it, but I can navigate it.”

• “What now, given what is?”

Radical acceptance helps us move forward with intention instead of reactivity.

Conclusion: Change Opens Opportunities

Change is guaranteed. 

Uncertainty is uncomfortable.

Growth is optional AND possible.

Thriving in uncertainty is about grounding ourselves in what we can control, supporting one another through the challenging parts, expanding our comfort zones, even when it’s scary, being honest when it’s hard and celebrating our wins.

So if you're currently navigating a change - in your team, your organisation, or your own life - I feel you and I believe it can be meaningful, not just manageable.

Need support? Check our Consulting page for more information or book a free discovery call to explore how we can help you navigate uncertainty without pretending it’s easy.